Drunk Boater from Atco, NJ, Gets 5 Years in Prison For Fatal Accident in 2023

A man from Atco is headed to prison in connection with a fatal boating accident in 2023.

On Monday, 44-year-old Jason Santo was sentenced to five years in state prison on second-degree reckless death by vessel and two fourth-degree assault by vessel charges that he pleaded guilty to this past August.

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Drunk and Speeding in the Dark

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office says on the evening of August 11th, 2023, Santo was operating his boat in Great Bay in the area of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Santo admitted to being intoxicated and speeding in the dark when he collided with a channel marker, and that his reckless actions caused the death of 44-year-old Mark Risden of Tabernacle and injured two other people aboard his boat.

An investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the prosecutor's office determined that his level of intoxication and speed were significant contributing factors to this incident.

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Once released from prison, Santo will be under three years of supervised release and his license will be suspended for five years.